Guam police officers and Customs agents frisk suspected illegal aliens apprehended near the Pago Bay Bridge on Oct. 6, 2022.
HAGÅTÑA (The Guam Daily Post) — Six Chinese nationals are facing federal charges for arriving in Guam by boat from Saipan.
On Tuesday in the District Court of Guam, a criminal complaint was filed against Zhenhua Xu, Wei Meng, Qihua Zheng, Aimin Zhang, Hailong Zhu and Fuyan Yi — all Chinese nationals — who were found to be hiding on private property in Urunao in Yigo.
The complaint states that on Aug. 18, the Guam Police Department responded to reports from a resident and, upon arrival, encountered a total of eight Chinese individuals in Urunao. An investigation determined that six of them arrived from Saipan by boat.
In response, GPD notified the Guam Customs and Quarantine Agency, and the six individuals were transported to the Customs office at the airport for processing. Homeland Security Investigations then assisted and was able to identify the individuals as Xu, Meng, Zheng, Zhang, Zhu and Yi.
According to the complaint, HSI checked records of the individuals and learned that the defendants arrived in Saipan after being granted legal entry under the parole program for Chinese visitors or the conditional worker nonimmigrant visa program for foreign workers.
“Records also revealed that all six subjects had remained beyond their authorized stay as a visitor or beyond the validity of the…visa, with no records to extend their authorized stay. All subjects considered ‘overstay,’ ” the federal complaint stated.
The six individuals were subsequently interviewed and confirmed that they knew “they had stayed beyond their legal stay, had sought and obtained employment in Saipan in various local industries not allowed under their immigration status, and then acted on their desire to relocate to Guam for economic reasons to live and work on Guam with higher wages and prolong their unlawful presence in the United States,” according to the complaint.
The defendants additionally confirmed they knew they’d be unable to travel by plane because of their current immigration status and admitted to being involved in a conspiracy to purchase a boat and travel to Guam.
“All subjects conveyed that they paid a transaction fee of $10,000 and embarked on their travel by boat to Guam from Saipan on or about Aug. 17,” the complaint stated.
As a result, Xu, Meng, Zheng, Zhang, Zhu and Yi appeared before federal Magistrate Judge Michael Bordallo who remanded the defendants to the custody of the United States Marshals Service. The six were also appointed attorneys and will return to the District Court of Guam for a preliminary exam scheduled for Sept. 3.
Increase
Beginning in 2022, there was a noticeable increase in the arrival of Chinese nationals, who, similar to the federal defendants, were believed to have purchased a boat in Saipan and traveled to Guam.
“Since 2022, Guam Customs has documented a total of 145 unlawful and/or attempted unlawful arrivals by individuals from the People’s Republic of China at or around Guam’s borders; 85 in 2022, 27 in 2023, and 33 in 2024, so far,” Customs spokesperson Alana Chargualaf-Afaisan confirmed with the Post on Thursday.
Due to the increase two years ago, Gov. Lou Leon Guerrero and Lt. Gov. Josh Tenorio established a multi-agency task force that resulted in the pilots of the boats being charged in the Superior Court of Guam.
Additionally, some of the same suspects were charged in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands’ federal court, pleaded guilty and were given a suspended sentence if the defendants left the United States voluntarily within six months of being sentenced.
In the local court, some suspects who were accused of piloting the boat pleaded guilty to their charges and were also given a suspended one-year sentence.
A day before the six were charged in federal court, Guam Sen. Dwayne San Nicolas introduced a bill that aims to make it a felony to “knowingly aid in unloading, removing or otherwise securing illegal passengers, merchandise or baggage into Guam.” A conviction would result in up to five years in prison and at least $25,000 in fines per violation.
